Wreck-it Ralph Review - Independent Cinema

Independent Cinema writes: If I’m not watching films, writing, at work, or at school, I’m probably playing video games. Growing up, it was the escape from reality that I would crave, which I now only moderately indulge in. The stories can be on par with many films we see nowadays, examples including Bioshock, Metal Gear Solid, and Heavy Rain. The odd thing is, never has this medium been able to be successfully adapted to a movie with its original source completely intact. There are movies like Scott Pilgrim vs The World and The FP which have borrowed elements from gaming culture, but never truly adapted an entire game properly. But even the former is an adaptation of a graphic novel, so the gaming material has been pre-chewed for easy development. With Wreck-it Ralph though, it’s the closest movies have gotten to creating a delightful game adaptation, while still not actually taking a real property and wholly adapting it. It borrows elements from many other pre-existing games which will please many gamers, but it creates a handful of original properties to incorporate within its universe that feel like games I’ve played many times before. Beyond the many references to other games and elements of gaming culture, there’s a deeper appreciation that can be had if you can get past the typical beats of any other animated film, and some forced moments that could have easily felt more natural.